Survivor 44, Ep. 2: Two Dorky Magnets
BURNING QUESTIONS HEADED INTO EPISODE 2
Is it conceivably possible for episode 2 to satisfactorily measure up to the premier?
NO! Not even close. That’s the short answer and the truthful answer. 44 kicked off with the excitement and emotional roller coaster of the marooning, new Birdcage advantages in plain sight, more medical stoppages than votes cast at Tribal, an idol played at Tribal #1, two Shots in the Dark played (one successfully), and the ultra rare single vote (1-0) elimination of Maddy!
😮💨
All of that could take a season or more and it happened IN THE FIRST EPISODE!!!
Will the Birdcage advantages at TIKA and SOKA be found, and have a better result than RATU?
RATU set the bar low on the exciting new Birdcage advantage. The whole tribe went looking, Brandon found it and Maddy knew, and the likely more exciting “dummy idol” possibility was dead on arrival. I believe that the other 2 tribes will open their Birdcages, but it will either fall flat or screw somebody over. I could see that idol going home in somebody’s pocket, if the trend continues in the new era, with nobody keeping a secret, especially early on in the game. My hope is that the right person (think Jesse in 43) gets their hands on the advantage solo and utilizes the dummy idol. To me, that’s the real worm to feast on in this Birdcage.
Will I, or anyone else, care about a showmance involving “Dorky” characters?
No.
Now, onto the episode.
RATU (Orange) Night 3
Matthew is LOVING how Tribal went. Interesting how Matthew used his Shot in the Dark as a way of removing himself from the vote and more importantly, the fallout. No heat is headed his way because he didn’t vote. Brilliant? Stupid? Much to unpack there, but for now, it seems to be successful because the only fallout is on Kane who voted for Brandon. Target on Kane, not on Matthew = successful use of Shot in the Dark.
Side Note: Lauren has an extra vote and owned up to it immediately, yet faced zero pushback. 🤔
SOKA (Green) Day 4
Matt is starting the game behind the 🎱 but him and Frannie are “vibing” as my students would say. I think we have found out who the “two dorky magnets” are. They can’t be “pulled apart”. 🙄 Bottomline here is that they are a pair. That’s dangerous and advantageous. I get the feeling that Matt’s 🎱 is going to reveal “Outlook Not So Good” for his game. I don’t see him lasting long at all in this game. The only thing that could keep him around is how non-threatening he is, especially without a vote for 2 Tribals.
As we change the channel from the dorky romance at SOKA, the Birdcage takes center stage at TIKA.
IDOL/ADVANTAGE HUNT
RATU - Kane
SOKA - Danny
TIKA - Whole Tribe
Everyone wants the idols and advantages. Everyone knows the power it holds and provides. People at each tribe set out for a scavenger hunt. Danny (SOKA) and Carolyn (TIKA) put on a masterclass of how to handle the Birdcage and how NOT to handle the Birdcage.
From our perspective, Danny is out there looking for the key and finds it. He goes up to the cage, opens it, grabs the contents, puts the bag BACK in the cage, and locks it. Great move by him making it look like he was never even there. He was able to adapt to the game and he was rewarded for it.
However, the BETTER MOVE would have been to put the dummy idol and real Immunity Idol congratulations note back into the bag, lock the cage, and rehide the key. With this move, you get the prize of the idol, the big move of deceiving whoever finds the key and unlocks the dummy idol and note, and ultimately take the heat or target off of you completely. 👏👏👏
Imagine having that kind of move on your resume???
Easier said than done to concoct that plan in real time and pull it off, but if you could, WOW! Not easy, and Carolyn shows us just how difficult the Birdcage can make the key finder’s life in Survivor. No surprise that she panics and removes the entire bag from the cage and leaves it empty, yet moments later she has a come to Jesus moment of how DUMB that move would be if she left it that way.
Carolyn is growing on me.
When the Survivor strategy AED gets Carolyn’s game back to life, she puts the bag back into the cage and locks it. But, the bag is empty and looks rummaged through! She didn’t even close the bag!! Sloppy. Now, the whole tribe is suspicious of everyone else, but it seems like Carson, Yam Yam, Helen, and Sarah are too paranoid to put together that Carolyn is the culprit behind the curtain. Instead, they turn on each other and nobody makes mention of Carolyn somehow.
Well, halfway through episode 2 and my burning question about the Birdcages being unlocked has come true and Danny and Carolyn didn’t disappoint. Hoping that the Immunity Challenge will send one of those tribes to Tribal, preferably TIKA because there’s no way Carolyn is keeping it together. If she can’t, she will either replicate Brandon’s Tribal and play it or go home with it in her pocket. Unless, there’s something we don’t know.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Up and over an obstacle, empty sandbags and grab ball
Lift and climb ladder and use rope to raise a bridge
Everyone crosses bridge and then maneuver ball up through snake maze
REWARD - Large Fishing Gear, Basic Fishing Gear
Tuck away in your mind that Claire is sitting out for a second consecutive challenge for SOKA. Jeff even asked about it and had a hmm kind of reaction. Is Claire checking the sit-out bench?
SOKA maintains a healthy lead to get to the maze first and RATU is dead last again. Matthew seems ok for RATU despite his horrendous fall while rock climbing.
Snake Maze - Josh (SOKA), Sarah (TIKA), and Matthew (RATU)
The snake maze looks insanely difficult. It’s big, has little room for error, and oh yeah, you’re on an Immunity Challenge on Survivor. But, Matthew is able to close the deal, win Immunity and fishing gear for RATU and avoid Tribal without ever dropping the ball. Josh finishes 2nd to earn the small fishing gear and avoid Tribal. TIKA loses and heads to Tribal.
Matthew built a replica of the Snake Maze and has been practicing?????
HUH??!?!? Is that possible? Is he that big a Survivor fan? Feels so next level of fandom and preparation. I know that there are people out there who are building the Survivor puzzles and selling them online, and I guess if you get a call that you’re going to be on Survivor…
YOU DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF TO PREPARE!
PRE-TRIBAL SCRAMBLE - Day 5
Ok, ok, ok. In the wake of Matthew letting the cat out of the bag about his preparation with puzzles, we have Carson, the future rocket scientist and two time NASA intern keeping his 3-D printing of Survivor puzzles from season’s past preparation on the downlow. I said it last week and I’m saying it again, keep an eye on Carson.
To this point, Carolyn has said on numerous occasions how she doesn’t feel connected to the tribe. Now that TIKA is headed to Tribal, Carson, Helen, Sarah and Yam Yam are good on voting Carolyn. But wait, Yam Yam is close to Carolyn and wants to get Helen.
Carson is playing both sides. Carson comes over to Yam Yam and Carolyn and is all huggy with them. Simultaneously he is nerdy with Helen and Sarah. It’s clear that Carson has studied Survivor and knows the value of being in the middle at the early stage of the 3 tribe game. Keep an eye on Carson.
The most interesting takeaway from the scramble isn’t Carson playing the middle or even Yam Yam being, well, Yam Yam. It’s actually the person who is playing as the floozy of the group - Carolyn. She’s taking the bait from Carson’s “nutty” side trying to connect with Yam Yam and Carolyn, but Carolyn is smarter than the average bear. She’s onto Carson and even poses the question to herself of What’s in it for Carson to ally with her? and How would that benefit him?
Follow the scent Carolyn. Trust your instincts. You’re not who the edit is portraying you to be.
PREDICTION: Carolyn goes home with the idol in her pocket. Keep an eye on Carson.
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Jeff poses to Helen the tribe strength vs. personal alliance decision that the early game dictates. Tribe strength is defined differently for each member and losing Bruce’s physical strength really put TIKA at a disadvantage. Plus, this vote will bring TIKA down to 4 and further their disadvantage in the game.
An interesting moment transpires when Carolyn tears up because of her fear and simultaneous gratitude for the moment.
VOTES
Helen 3
Carolyn 1
NO VOTE - Sarah
A pretty anticlimactic vote. My guess is that Yam Yam and Carolyn are closer than we know and Carson knew that. Helen likely bonded with Carson only and Carolyn seemed like an “obvious vote” to her, even though there’s nothing obvious in Survivor.
I think Carson understood that Helen was logical and straightforward thinking, plus she was good at puzzles like he was. It feels like Carson read the room at TIKA and realized that the better move was to go with the nutty ones in Yam Yam and Carolyn. He knows he’s smarter than them and more experienced in studying the game, however, going forward, I don’t think Carson fully understands people like Carolyn, but I don’t know if Carolyn knows herself in this game either. Having an idol in her pocket sure does help that cause.
TAKEAWAYS
Episode 2 predictably didn’t live up to episode 1’s 4th of July fireworks display. That’s ok.
Castaways are more prepared than ever to play Survivor and control the controllables like knowing and practicing puzzles. What’s interesting is how we know both Matthew (RATU) and Carson (TIKA) did this preparation, BUT Matthew blew his cover and revealed his preparation, yet Carson is keeping his secret. Matthew didn’t do enough preparation on KEEPING YOUR MOUTH SHUT!
The Birdcage accelerated game paranoia. Instead of people thinking others were looking or finding advantages/idols, they know that people are because it’s in plain sight.
The Birdcage shined a bright light on a player’s ability to adapt to the game, make a decision, and keep moving forward with your best foot forward. Danny found the key, got the idol and replaced the bag like nothing happened. Carolyn barely did the same, but was bailed out by the paranoia of the situation and the tribe members not adapting to the cage fast and savvy enough. Advantage Danny and advantage Carolyn. They saw the opportunity and took action. One better than the other? Seems that way, but time will tell. Ultimately, they adapted and made the decision to take action in a very unpredictable game.
As predicted, the “Two Dorky Magnets” showmance - nobody cared.
Moving forward I think there will be more twists and turns than ever before and the players who are able to adapt, adjust, make the best decisions, and move forward will be around for the long term. Those that don’t, will be likely voted out for playing flat footed like Helen.
Thanks for reading this week. Appreciate the support. Be sure to outlike, outcomment, and outshare the rest all season long. I will be writing about each episode all the way through to the announcement of the winner of Survivor 44. See you next week.
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